Child of Destiny

"You traitor! I'm not dead yet!" Di Ming spat out the words through gritted teeth.

Qi Yuan increased the force of his stepping on him, and Di Ming used all his strength to shake off everyone around him.

She took three steps back and saw Di Ming struggling to his feet, black energy billowing into the sky. Qi Yuan shouted, "Oh no! He's going to self-destruct!"

"Run!" She tried to pull Mu Qinghuai and Gu Youtian away, but Gu Youtian didn't move.

“I can’t escape. My spiritual veins are severely damaged, and I don’t even have the strength to run,” Gu Youtian said with a smile.

Qi Yuan quickly grabbed him: "I'll carry you on my back!"

“Di Ming is self-destructing; my golden core can seal his power.” He shook off Qi Yuan’s hand and leaped above Di Ming on his own.

Mu Qinghuai shouted anxiously, "What are you doing!"

He rushed down, but Gu Youtian threw down a talisman that sent him flying.

Master Song exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't he afraid? He'll die!"

Qi Yuan flew quickly towards Gu Youtian. He wasn't afraid at all; she could clearly see his body trembling uncontrollably.

"Don't come any closer! The self-destruction range is too wide to escape. Let me be a hero this once!" Gu Youtian endured the excruciating pain and opened his golden core. He knew he was going to die.

"Gu Youtian!!"

A burst of black energy erupted, but the surging power was trapped within a golden barrier. This barrier was formed from Gu Youtian's golden core and could not be broken even by the Spirit-Slaying Blade.

The two were blocked outside the barrier. They knelt on the ground with their hands clasped together, praying that there was still a chance for the people inside to survive.

"Aren't you the chosen one? If so, then live." Qi Yuan's vision blurred, and she murmured to herself.

Mu Qinghuai lowered his head, his back slightly hunched, his expression seemingly calm, yet conveying a deep-seated sense of powerlessness. He uttered three words: "I'm sorry..."

The demons and ghosts behind them looked at each other, not daring to utter a sound.

Ouyang Lanyue arrived at this place at some unknown time and said softly, "Fate has been decided."

"What destiny!" Qi Yuan asked hurriedly.

"You'll find out soon enough," Ouyang Lanyue said calmly.

The explosions inside the barrier lasted for a long time until the black smoke dissipated and the barrier crumbled. Several people ran forward to see what was happening inside.

The ground was horribly blasted apart, several feet deep. Di Ming's corpse lay on the ground, unharmed except for a sword stab in the chest. He had died a quick and painless death, a defiant smile on his face.

But the person they wanted to see was not inside the barrier.

To be precise, Gu Youtian vanished into thin air.

The two gasped, their faces showing disbelief, speechless.

Qi Yuan had just entered the Ghost Path and had already reached a high level. Now, she was further stimulated and felt everything go black before her eyes, causing her to fall backward.

Mu Qinghuai caught her and remained silent.

"See? I already said it's a bloody disaster! He deserved to die, otherwise why would the chosen one die?" Master Song spat.

If Gu Youtian hadn't sacrificed his life to create a barrier, they wouldn't have been able to escape no matter how hard they tried. Without Gu Youtian, they would already be dead.

Mu Qinghuai's voice was slightly hoarse: "You're not worthy to say that about him."

The longsword flew from his hand and severed Master Song's head. Master Song's eyes were wide open before he died, unable to close them in peace.

He held Qi Yuan's shoulders tightly, his dark pupils like a deep, still pool, chillingly cold.

The demons and ghosts sensed the demonic energy emanating from him, and one of them timidly spoke up: "He, he is the Demon Lord!"

He slightly raised his eyes, his tone chilling: "Five days from now, come here to pick up your new Ghost King."

The demons were stunned for a moment, then fear gripped their hearts. They knelt on the ground and kowtowed, "Yes!!"

Ouyang Lanyue waved her hand and said, "Return to the palace."

The carriage arrived at that exact moment.

Mu Qinghuai picked up the unconscious Qi Yuan and put her into the carriage, his eyelashes trembling slightly, as if he wanted to hide all his emotions in the shadows.

The air was so thick you could hear a pin drop; no one spoke.

After a long while, Ouyang Lanyue calmly said, "Gu Youtian is dead."

Mu Qinghuai paused for a moment, then answered softly, "Mm."

Upon arriving at the palace, he laid Qi Yuan flat on the bed and covered her with a blanket. The love knot, now devoid of its spiritual power, fell off her body. He paused for a moment, then placed the love knot beside her pillow.

Ouyang Lanyue examined her spiritual meridians and said, "Her meridians have recovered, and her cultivation has reached the late stage of the Void Refinement realm. However, the ghostly energy within her body is still quite chaotic. If it is not controlled properly in the early stages, it may affect her personality. She needs to rest for a few days."

"Um……"

“The plague was caused by Di Ming. Qi Yuan can be said to have inherited Di Ming’s ghost energy, so those patients need her ghost energy to recover,” Ouyang Lanyue added.

"Um."

Mu Qinghuai suddenly asked, "Did you already know that Di Ming was after the Spirit-Slaying Blade within the territory, which is why the teleportation talisman's destination was in the inner city?"

Ouyang Lanyue smiled and said, "That's right."

"Go back to your Imperial Preceptor's residence," Mu Qinghuai said.

“Alright.” Ouyang Lanyue indeed returned to the Imperial Preceptor’s residence, and a red figure appeared outside the courtyard.

Chun Ting asked, "Qi Yuan, has she entered the path of the ghosts?"

Ouyang Lanyue raised the corners of her mouth, but her tone sent chills down Chunting's spine: "Transmigrator. I advise you not to worry about so much."

*

Qi Yuan was unconscious for three days.

During these three days, Mu Qinghuai would help kill the vengeful ghosts, and spend the rest of the time sitting by her bedside.

The news of Di Ming's death has reached the cultivation world, but the cultivation world does not know who the new Ghost King is, let alone who killed Di Ming.

When Qi Yuan groggily opened her eyes and sat up, she saw Mu Qinghuai sitting on the edge of the bed with his head resting on the bed, seemingly asleep.

She picked up a lock of Mu Qinghuai's long hair and brought it to her nose, smelling its pleasant fragrance.

Fragments of memory flooded her mind, and she suddenly thought of Gu Youtian's death. Her lips twitched, and the pain in her chest throbbed rhythmically.

Mu Qinghuai moved his fingers, got up and found that Qi Yuan had already woken up. He hurriedly asked, "Are you alright? How's the ghost energy?"

Qi Yuan circulated the power in her dantian, and indeed, it was two completely different forces. The ghostly energy merged harmoniously with her body.

She came to her senses, looked down at her hands, and said in a trembling voice, "I was emotional and impulsive at the time. If I hadn't pursued Di Ming, Gu Youtian wouldn't have gotten into trouble!"

"It's not your fault. If Gu Youtian were still alive, he wouldn't want to see you blaming yourself." Mu Qinghuai held her hand.

"Yes... he is a hero, our hero..." Qi Yuan finally couldn't hold back and burst into tears.

He had never seen Qi Yuan so distraught. Seeing the large tears rolling down her face, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness in his heart.

Even though Mu Qinghuai's own eyes were brimming with tears, he still gently raised his hand to wipe them away for her: "Yes. He has always been a hero."

After venting her emotions, Qi Yuan touched the red bead on her wrist: "What exactly happened... How could I have inherited the ghost energy of the Underworld? After calming down and thinking about my actions back then, I realized they were too crazy."

"A demon will take you to the Ghost Realm in two days. I'll go with you. You'll definitely find the answer there," Mu Qinghuai said gently.

Qi Yuan hesitated: "Then the position of Ghost King..."

“You are capable of this. Protecting the Silver Bamboo Sect is your obsession. If you become the Ghost King, the Ghost Realm will give up attacking the Human Realm under your orders, and the Silver Bamboo Sect will have more protection, won’t it?” Mu Qinghuai’s voice was very soft.

“I understand.” She wiped away her tears, her tone becoming resolute. “I want to be the Ghost King. I want to rule the Ghost Realm.”

“That’s the right way to think about it.” Ouyang Lanyue came in from outside the door.

He smiled, his hands behind his back: "First of all, congratulations on your breakthrough. Secondly, the patients in Yansha Kingdom need you; only your ghostly energy can heal them."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" Qi Yuan hurriedly got out of bed.

The three boarded the carriage and first arrived at the isolation ward closest to the palace. Seeing the patients' suffering, she felt very distressed.

Qi Yuan stretched out her hands, gathering the ghostly energy within her body. Black energy surged from her fingertips and enveloped the patient.

The patient recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye, first his skin, nails, and hair, and finally not only could he hear, but his throat also recovered.

They treated the patients one by one, spending nearly a day restoring hundreds of patients from Yansha Kingdom to health.

Ouyang Lanyue said, "You have done everything you were supposed to do. Now come with me to the king to ask for a reward."

The two agreed, and Qi Yuan put on her veil and followed at the back into the main hall.

The king laughed heartily: "Hahaha, you did a great job! You've excellently completed the task I gave you."

“But,” the king’s face darkened, “I don’t believe that Master Gu and Master Song would die over something as trivial as a plague. Tell me the truth!”

Since Ouyang Lanyue did not come in from outside the door, the king no longer cared that they were guests, and his voice was filled with authority and anger.

Qi Yuan said calmly, "When the demons invaded Yansha Kingdom, Gu Youtian was willing to sacrifice himself to kill them in order to protect the safety of Yansha Kingdom. If the king feels grateful, he may build a statue for him."

Her voice turned colder: "As for Master Song, he was allied with Di Ming and was eventually trampled to death in the melee." These words were, of course, fabricated by her.

“Your Majesty, I can attest to the truth of what she said,” Ouyang Lanyue said with a smile as she walked in.

"Ah... I didn't know that was the case. I misunderstood you two immortals. Each of these bags contains ten thousand spirit stones, which is your reward for completing the task." The king forced a smile.

Qi Yuan narrowed her eyes: "Your Majesty, have you forgotten that Gu Youtian also completed the commission? Or do you think his achievements are not worth spending 10,000 spirit stones to build a statue for him?"

Her obsession with the statue was also because of Gu Youtian.

She remembered that Gu Youtian once told her a story about a hero. She remembered that Gu Youtian said, "I wish I could be a hero. Heroes are so cool. If I become a hero one day, I will build a really majestic statue of him!"

The king, drenched in sweat, gritted his teeth and said, "Of course I will not forget. Immortal Gu is a hero of Yansha Kingdom, and I will definitely ask someone to build a statue of him."

Qi Yuan tossed the bag of spirit stones in her hand back to the king, saying in a calm tone, "I will also use these ten thousand spirit stones to build his statue. Your Majesty, you must build it well."

Mu Qinghuai, who had never bothered with a mere ten thousand spirit stones, also replied to the king, "Same here."

"You two immortals are very kind. I heard you are leaving Yansha Kingdom tomorrow, so please get some rest tonight as well." The king frowned slightly.

"Your Majesty is deeply concerned."

Three figures disappeared from the main hall.